In February 2024, the City of Hamilton, Ontario suffered a debilitating ransomware attack that crippled roughly 80 % of its municipal network. Attackers demanded around $18.5 million in ransom, but the city refused to pay. By April 2025, Hamilton’s cyber insurance provider denied a $5–18 million claim, stating that MFA had not been fully implemented organization‑wide at the time of the breach — even though the the breach would’ve happened even with multi-factor authentication in place.
What this incident reveals about MFA implementation:
- MFA isn’t just a checkbox—it’s basic cyber‑hygiene. Insurance carriers increasingly treat proper MFA as a minimum requirement rather than an optional upgrade.
- Insurers are cracking down on lax security: Hamilton’s insurer rejected the claim because the city failed to meet its MFA requirement, setting a precedent that weak authentication can void coverage.
- Many breaches stem from credential-based attacks. Properly enabled MFA can stop more than 99 % of such compromises—even if passwords are leaked.
Why “Shared MFA Accounts” are a Security Liability
It’s not uncommon for organizations to create shared, generic accounts (e.g. “Admin‑DeptX”) for service teams. Sometimes MFA is enabled on this shared account. But this approach is flawed:
1. You lose auditability. Shared accounts make it impossible to trace actions to a specific user, undermining accountability and obscuring incident response.
2. It introduces recovery vulnerabilities. If someone misplaces the shared MFA device or changes a password without consensus, everyone may be locked out—or worse, lowered defenses lead to bypass risks.
3. It reduces MFA’s effectiveness. MFA relies on verifying individual identity—sharing credentials or tokens defeats that. The added friction of one person delays access for the rest, prompting workarounds.
4. Insurance may not recognize it. Insurance language often specifies per‑user MFA. Shared MFA can be treated the same as no MFA—leaving organizations exposed during policy reviews or breach investigations.
The Hamilton Lesson in Proper MFA
Hamilton’s breach may have still happened with proper MFA but had they implemented it, their insurance company would have had their back. In other words, security basics were skipped—and the impact was catastrophic and costly.
To prevent repeating Hamilton’s mistake:
✅ Don’t use generic or shared accounts with MFA. Each user must have a unique login and MFA credential aligned with their identity and role.
✅ Enforce MFA consistently—across test, admin, and vendor accounts. Partial deployment is as risky as no deployment. Hamilton had MFA pilots in a few departments—but it wasn’t rolled out broadly—and that proved fatal.
✅ Ensure MFA policies are in sync with cyber insurance requirements. Before you apply for coverage, verify that your architecture meets insurer definitions of MFA—and document compliance regularly.
✅ Use modern MFA methods—and test account recovery securely. Authenticator apps or hardware tokens outperform SMS, and well‑designed recovery paths help avoid risky workarounds.
✅ Pair MFA with Zero Trust principles. The “identity‑first” mindset treats every access attempt (even inside corporate networks) as needing verification. MFA is one critical control in this architecture.
MFA Done Right Means Individual Accounts, Consistent Deployment, and Documentation
Hamilton’s digital collapse demonstrates a glaring truth: account security isn’t about toggling features—it’s about deploying them correctly, organization‑wide, with auditability and compliance baked in.
To be secure (and eligible for insurance), every user needs:
- Their own account
- Proper MFA setup
- A clear recovery process
- Ongoing compliance monitoring
Shared accounts with MFA may look secure—but they break the foundational principles of authentication, auditing, and accountability. Don’t let that checkbox—and your entire insurance claim—be the next thing you miss.
Cyber insurers are drawing a hard line: MFA must be individual and enforceable. TechIDManager makes that possible. It replaces shared credentials with technician-specific accounts, protected by per-user MFA, across Entra ID, local domains, macOS, and more. With TechIDManager, you don’t just check the MFA box—you prove you’ve implemented it the right way, for compliance, audit, and peace of mind.
